Perth Harbour is being marketed in an effort to attract private-sector investment.
Regarded as one of Scotland’s key commercial ports, the facility on the Tay belongs to Perth and Kinross Council and the marketing exercise is seen as the best way of gauging potential interest in anyone wanting to acquire the harbour.
The council stressed the harbour is not up for sale councillors have not agreed to this but the marketing initiative was simply “testing the water”.
How much the facility would cost if sold in the future has not been revealed, though the value of the council’s property interests in the area is understood to be around £750,000.
The working sea port is seen as a lower-cost alternative to larger coastal ports and lies just 30 miles from the North Sea.
Perth’s location at the centre of Scotland’s transport network and at the gateway to the Highlands is seen to offer strategic benefits to businesses.
Around 90% of Scotland’s population can be accessed within a 90-minute drive of Perth, and Scotland’s two major airports are accessible in less than an hour.
Perth Harbour operates 24 hours a day, and coastal and dry bulk ships up to90 metres in length, carrying up to2,500 tonnes of cargo from Europe, the Baltic and Scandinavia dock at its four main berths.
Operations work in time with the tides, with vessels arriving on one high tide and departing on the next to ensure maximum efficiency.
In many respects the harbour is one of the reasons why Perth was founded in its present location, at the farthest navigable point on the River Tay. The medieval harbour lay at the foot of the High Street.
As the river silted, and boats became larger, it moved to its current location at Friarton.
Graeme Duncan, head of commercial property at Bidwells, who are handling the marketing, said: “Perth Harbour is unique in the area because of its location.
“Moving away from the large coastal ports such as Aberdeen and Dundee brings costs down while keeping the advantages of proximity to the North Sea and excellent rail and road transport links.
“The harbour would make the ideal investment for a company looking for a logistics hub in the centre of Scotland.”